News from Germany, Austria, Switzerland

[Angela]

First casting news from Munich: the new "tanz", the German dance magazine, says that Osipova/Polunin will dance the first Giselle of the Zelensky era on Sept. 23. (online only behind paywall).

[annamk]

Do you have any idea when casting might be published for the Autumn performances in Munich ? Good that it's now possible to buy tx online.

Edited July 27, 2016 by annamk

[Angela]

Normally, it should be up now or a month before the performances. But nothing seems normal with Igor Zelensky - as you know, he has not even published the roster of dancers for next season, though their contracts should be signed since a few months. On this weekend, the school holidays start in Bavaria and there will be only few people left in the theatre. No idea when the training for the new season starts, I'm sorry. As soon as I find out, I'll post it here!

[annamk]

Thank you Angela  

[Vanartus]

I rang the box office in Munich this morning - they said full casting (for Giselle) would be on the web on August 25th...

[TrumpetsGo]

it changes all.

[Angela]

??

[Angela]

The new dancers at Dresden Semperoper Ballet have been announced on their Facebook Page

[Vanartus]

Just checked website of Bavarian State Ballet for Giselle casting. It's still all tbc. Osipova/Polunin meant to be doing first night (few tickets left). But nothing confirmed. It's the Peter Wright production. Anyway the Box Office assured me details would go up today, so...

[annamk]

No sign of any casting yet  I can't even find the dancers listed on the company website but I may not be looking in the right place. 

[Vanartus]

Hi annamk...just checked again - nothing. Frustrating, isn't it!

[Angela]

I check the website every single day - no cast, no dancers, not even the old company list. Maybe on Monday. But the new company must be working already!

Edited August 27, 2016 by Angela

[Vanartus]

Hi Angela...perhaps Monday will be the big day...or...????????????

[Vanartus]

Re Munich/Giselle...update/casting earliest 15th September...(c/o Katja in Box Office)

[annamk]

Ah thank you Vanartus, at least I can stop looking for the time being. 

[Angela]

One week before the first performance??? Oh this is great... At least they should know the names of the dancers that signed a contract

 

The critics' survey of Germany's dance magazine "tanz" was published today, and before he even started, Zelensky gets four mentions for "negative development" (out of 42 German and International critics): for his "brutal casting policy", for his "hostile take-over" and the many dismissals, for the "icy wind of Stalinism" because he thinks he can "reign in a Russian absolutism manner in a side job". Ouch. That may not be fair before he even started, but his public relations work until now could not be worse, I think.

[Angela]

The annual critics’s survey of "tanz" for 2015/16:

 

Production of the year: Akram Khan: "Until the Lions"

Dancers of the year: Sylvie Guillem and Steven McRae

Choreographers of the year: Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Alexei Ratmansky

Company of the year: Bavarian State Ballet

[FLOSS]

Well even from this distance it would seem that Mr Zelensky has upset an exceedingly large number of people in an exceptionally short time.The comments by the sponsor who said that while she was happy to support the Bavarian State Ballet she did not want to give financial support to the Russian State Ballet seems to have been spot on as far as the turnover in personnel and  the recruitment of new dancers is concerned.

 

I imagine that it is considered somewhat insulting in Munich that the man now in charge of the ballet company is treating the post as a part time appointment and seems to believe that everything that happened there before his appointment was of so little value.Even if  every single ballet that Zelensky stages this season is exceptionally good, brilliantly danced and tremendously popular he is going to have his work cut out to undo all the bad feeling that seems to have been generated by what he has done so far, as he seems to have treated the company and its traditions with total disdain.

 

I am sure that the company richly deserves its title of company of the year.The announcement has just added to Mr Zelensky's difficulties because it has raised the bar even higher as far as judging his first season is concerned. In addition it seems unlikely that he will have a sympathetic press reporting on his artistic endeavours or his absenteeism.I wonder how long he will last?

Edited August 30, 2016 by FLOSS

[Angela]

FLOSS, I'm pretty sure the quality of the new Munich company will be better than before - Ivan Liska had a great sense of mixing an old and new repertoire, they started very early to produce the (then) forgotten Petipa ballets, they unearthed the forgotten treasures of German dance history, had the Cranko and Neumeier story ballets, American masters and mixed evenings from all the masters of modern European ballet. Liska had not so much luck with the new works, very few of them survived. He had - and this is my personal opinion - no taste for dancers. Compared to other German companies, Munich was a rather mediocre one where dancers did their job and lacked the excitement, the passion, the fire you find in Hamburg or Stuttgart. Of course Lucia Lacarra was a great ballerina, but I will never ever understand what people see in Marlon Dino. So if Zelensky (who, and one cannot repeat this enough, was a fabulous dancer with a great stage personality) brings in dancers like Shklyarov, Osipova or Polunin, the audience will treasure them from the very beginning, I'm sure. You are absolutely right, Mr. Zelensky has offended the Munich audience an many ways, and he really needs to think about the difference between public relations in Russia and public relations in Germany. But in the end, if the dancing is fine, the audience will be happy.

I always wanted to see Zelensky as Cranko's Onegin, a role he never did... alas! He would have been wonderful.

[SwissBalletFan]

FLOSS, I'm pretty sure the quality of the new Munich company will be better than before

 

 

I agree, there are quite a few hot names joining the company. One I would love to mention who will be dancing Spartacus to keep Sergei on his toes.

 

I think once the dust settles, the problems will all be explained away, as 'the things that one might expect from a dramatic transition', especially if Zelensky can keep Polunin under control and bring him back to his best.

Edited August 31, 2016 by SwissBalletFan

[helis]

BSB munich

 

https://www.staatsoper.de/staatsballett/ensemble.html

 

 

Principals

 

Ladies
Ivy Amista
Ksenia Ryzhkova
Maria Shirinkina

Natalia Osipova (guest)
Svetlana Zakharova (guest)

Gentlemen
Javier Amo
Osiel Gouneo
Tigran Mikayelyan
Vladimir Shklyarov
Dmitri Sobolevskiy

Sergei Polunin (permanent guest) Edited September 6, 2016 by helis

[Vanartus]

Aha!

[Vanartus]

I wonder when the Giselle casting goes up?

[Angela]

After all that waiting, I'm a teeny-weeny bit disappointed, somehow... What an odd mix of world stars and leftovers. But we'll see!! There's an interview with Zelensky in one of the Munich newspapers today (not online) where he says he found two new sponsors (no names). He will have a press conference for the season opening next week.

 

Strange things happening at Berlin: out of the blue, the Governing Mayor has called a press conference for tomorrow about "current developments at State Ballet Berlin" - he would not do that in person if not for important decisions. So some journalists already suspects that Duato might quit/be dismissed.

[Angela]

According to a press release from Munich, the cast for the first Giselle is indeed Osipova/Polunin.

Other casts: Ryzhkova/Gouneo, Shirinkina/Shklyarov, Zakharova/Shklyarov, Amista/Sobolevskiy. "Exact dates to be announced soon".

 

 

ed for correcting Russian names

Edited September 6, 2016 by Angela

[Balletomanewithoutacause]

Here are names and former companies of the Russians brought by  Zelensky to Munich this season:

 

First soloists:

Ksenia Ryzhkova (Stanislavsky}

Maria Shrinking (Mariinsky)

Vladimir Shklyarov (Mariinsky)

Dmitri Sobolevskiy  (Stanislavsky)

 

Soloists:

Tatiana Tiliguzova (Mariinsky)

Elisaveta Kruteleva (Bolshoi)

Alexey Popov (Mariinsky)

 

Corps de ballet:

Ekaterina Bondarenko (Mariinsky)

Vera Segova (Mariinsky)

Konstantin Ivkin  (Mariinsky)

 

7 from Mariinsky (!), 1 from Bolshoi, 2 from Stanislavsky.

[Vanartus]

Thanks for all these updates - I really appreciate them.

[Vanartus]

http://m.morgenpost.de/kultur/berlin-kultur/article208194837/Chefwechsel-beim-Staatsballett-Berlin.html

 

Yes - Berlin...the Morgenpost says Duato has already got the chop, but the Tagesspiegel is slightly more guarded saying it's highly probable he's being dismissed. Interesting that the successor will be announced, although I'm assuming it's just an interim. Anyway, not long to wait...

Edited September 6, 2016 by Vanartus

[Angela]

Breaking News: Newspapers at Berlin report that Sasha Waltz will follow Nacho Duato - goodbye to classical ballet at Berlin?

 

http://www.bz-berlin.de/kultur/theater/sasha-waltz-wird-neue-chefin-des-berliner-staatsballetts

[SwissBalletFan]

 

Breaking News: Newspapers at Berlin report that Sasha Waltz will follow Nacho Duato - goodbye to classical ballet at Berlin?

 

http://www.bz-berlin.de/kultur/theater/sasha-waltz-wird-neue-chefin-des-berliner-staatsballetts

 

 

It has been reported by rbb that it will be a joint position with Johannes Öhman

 

http://www.rbb-online.de/kultur/beitrag/2016/09/staatsballett-sasha-waltz-nacho-duato-nachfolge.html

[Vanartus]

Interesting - a "brave" choice and Sasha had been pushed aside in earlier wrangles. I think it may be good to let Berlin develop a special hybrid character. I'd wish somoone would bring back two key Macmillan Berlin era works - Anastasia (one-act) and Concerto. If only The successor could exploit the potential of carefully chosen Macmillan additions as Stuttgart seems to have cut back a lot. (Manon however seems to be a Dresden signature piece now.) Malakhov himself also brought in Ashton's Sylvia which was terrific. I also liked his Oz...and the Ratmansky one-actor. I missed Don Juan and Caravaggio, and only saw part of the Tschaikowsky epic. Liked the Snow White though. But Duarte made a big financial mistake in dumping a perfectly serviceable Nutcracker; he could have pressed ahead at developing a strong Balanchine profile - Jewels was great - rather than reviving too much of his own stuff too soon. It was never going to work.

Edited September 7, 2016 by Vanartus

[Angela]

Vanartus, I can't remember the last time that a MacMillan work was danced at Berlin - yes, they had Manon in 2005, but nothing of his creations for the company for a very long time. The tradition of remembering the former ballet directors has long been forgotten there... Stuttgart surely did not "cut back", they keep reviving The Song of the Earth and Requiem every few years, the creations MacMillan once made for Cranko's company. They also did Las Hermanas in 2011. They never had Manon or Mayerling there, and I don't know if you can call it a "signature piece" at Dresden, they only dance Manon since last season.

[Vanartus]

Heavens was it as far back as 2005 Manon in Berlin ...that ages me more than I'd like! I'd better keep a closer eye on Stuttgart. Completely missed the Requiem revival, (though ages ago did catch Tetley's Voluntaries), and actually saw Munich do Song. I rather think Dresden hope for signature piece status - I think they did it rather well and Hamilton is a good addition.